Phencyclidine (PCP) was developed as an anesthetic for humans but has become a highly abused drug. The illicit use of PCP and PCP analogues, such as cyclohexamine, phenylcyclohexylpyrrolidine, phenylcyclopentylpiperidine and thienylcyclohexylpiperidine has resulted in a medical need for antibodies and diagnostics to rapidly detect the PCP and PCP analogue metabolites in order to monitor and treat PCP abuse.
The preparation of antibodies to PCP and PCP analogues requires the synthesis of a PCP derivative in order to covalently attach the derivative to an antigenic polypeptide or protein. In addition, the PCP derivative is covalently attached to various polypeptides, proteins or labels for use in screening antibodies and in the immunoassay process. The PCP derivative should mimic the structure of the PCP and PCP analogue metabolites sought to be measured. Therefore, the selection and synthesis of the types of PCP derivatives for covalent attachment to proteins, polypeptides or labels is critical. In addition, the PCP derivatives need to be stable to hydrolysis in an aqueous solution.
PCP compounds and conjugates for immunization and immunoassay have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,281,065 and 4,446,065.